This anthology of eight stories about slayers other than Buffy boasts some impressive talent. The writers have all worked on the TV show, including three tales by Joss Whedon (series creator) and one by Amber Benson (who played Tara), while the artists are the cream of the crop.

Tim Sale provides the cover and illustrates a story about a slayer in a less tolerant time. It’s written by Whedon in verse, and amazingly, it works very well, almost breathtakingly so.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:
Tales of the Slayers
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Jane Espenson writes and P. Craig Russell illustrates one about a slayer at a Jane Austenesque ball. I didn’t see the twist ending coming, and when it happened, I immediately read the whole thing over again to see how well I’d been tricked.

The standout story for me was written by David Fury and illustrated by Steve Lieber. It’s about a Native American slayer facing down a vampire in the Old West. There’s a bonus continuity bit at the end, but even before that, the execution of the mood is stunning.

The Doug Petrie/Gene Colan story about a 70s slayer features a monster, a giant bat, well-chosen to suit Colan’s strengths. There’s also a Fray tie-in story, which nicely wraps up the volume thematically, as well as a prologue about the First Slayer with art by Leinil Francis Yu and Dexter Vines. Overall, a very nice anthology collection that rounds out the history of the Buffy world.